A Handful of Dust
by Evelyn Waugh
- Used
- Hardcover
- Condition
- Very Good+/Good+
- Seller
-
San Francisco, California, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Synopsis
British writer Evelyn Waugh’s A Handful of Dust tells the story of Tony Last, a disillusioned and soon-to-be-divorced country squire, who travels of the jungle of Brazil — only to find himself the prisoner of an unhinged settler who forces him to continuously read aloud the works of Charles Dickens. A Handful of Dust is often grouped with Waugh’s satirical novels prior to World War II; however, because of its serious undertones, it can also been seen as a transitional work to his more substantial postwar fiction. The novel has autobiographical elements, reflecting the author’s own failed marriage and his resulting South American journey in 1933-1934. But on a deeper note, A Handful of Dust illustrates the parallels the savage nature of London society with uncivilized barbarity of the jungle. Waugh first used Tony as the protagonist in his 1933 short story titled The Man Who Liked Dickens. The piece was published in the US in Hearst's International–Cosmopolitan and in Britain in Nash's Pall Mall Magazine. Tony’s story was then serialized — after much revision and expansion — under the title A Flat in London. When it came time to publish the story as a novel, Waugh selected the title A Handful of Dust, inspired by a line in T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land: "I will show you fear in a handful of dust." Upon publication, the critical reception of A Handful of Dust was less than impressive. Yet the novel was and has remained popular with the public and has never been out of print. A Handful of Dust is ranked 34th on Modern Library’s “100 Best” English-language novels of the 20th century. It is also listed as one of TIME’s “100 Best Novels” (since 1923).
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Details
- Bookseller
- 2nd Impression Books (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 792
- Title
- A Handful of Dust
- Author
- Evelyn Waugh
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good+
- Jacket Condition
- Good+
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- New Directions
- Date Published
- 1945
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
Terms of Sale
2nd Impression Books
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
2nd Impression Books
About 2nd Impression Books
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- G+
- A term used to denote a condition a slight grade better than Good. Good is defined as "describes the average used and worn book...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Price Clipped
- When a book is described as price-clipped, it indicates that the portion of the dust jacket flap that has the publisher's...
- FFEP
- A common abbreviation for Front Free End Paper. Generally, it is the first page of a book and is part of a single sheet that...
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
- Tight
- Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.